Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has hinted that the lack of new faces in his squad in the summer has been one of the reasons for the team’s struggles so far this season, echoing previous comments from Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers. Rodgers and his backroom staff are expecting a busy summer in 2023.
Brendan Rodgers said: “I think there’s currently players here that are very good players that have the chance to continue to develop. But naturally because of the situation that we’re in with players out of contract over the next 18 months, then there’s going to be changes within the squad.”
It now looks like it will be similar at Anfield, with Klopp making an admission about both the last summer window and the one coming up.
Jurgen Klopp said: “It’s all about the squad, but you cannot judge the squad without looking at the circumstances. If the last year wouldn’t have been so long, if the last seasons wouldn’t have been as successful, all these kind of things, there would have been more changes. But because we were very successful, especially last year, with a very short summer after, it’s not the summer for a big overhaul. But again it was always clear that after a long time that there will be some struggles. It’s not always going in one direction, these kind of things are clear. And I knew that can happen, you never know 1000 percent in the moment, but it was pretty likely that this year it could be a bit bumpy.” This summer is obviously a summer where we have to do something.”
Klopp’s comments come almost a year after Rodgers first mentioned the importance of a “healthy shake-up” of the squad, with the City boss also expected to get his wishes in the summer.
Jurgen Klopp said: “You’ve got to keep developing but we’ve not been able to freshen up the team. We’ve improved the squad, there’s no doubt about that, but we have to improve the team. Whether that’s spending more money to get a different level of player in or bringing in a hungry player who wants to prove a point. It’s probably a mixture of both really.”
